Stuck in the Wave
by ChasingFerrets
Summary: Cassandra, a tomboyish and cocky elderly lady, tells the story of how she met and fell in love with Seto Kaiba. She encounters problems along the way, such as an evil man also wanting her heart, and the fact that Seto is about 160 billion dollars richer than she is.
1. Chapter 1

_You changed me._

_You never will know it, but you changed me._

_I was that cocky, tomboyish girl who hated being played with. Still am, just with a soft side I never knew before. Heh, maybe not a girl…an old hag is more fitting. _

_I've got no one to keep me from calling myself a hag…Nikki is off doing her own thing, and God knows where she is now._

_You'd correct me; call me beautiful, even as I wasted away, getting wrinkles and age spots. You'd buy me the most revolutionary skin care products. It improved my looks, but your love for me was sky high and never affected by the outside, as were my feelings for you. I couldn't change that, and I never would._

_My memory wastes away, but every moment with you rings clear in my mind. Especially…especially that fateful day that I met you, and was changed forever.  
_

* * *

"CASSANDRA."

The redhead girl next to me yells in my ear. I seriously don't know why she brought me to this club. 'Cassandra, you need to get out more, meet a guy! Maybe he'll be the one…!'

The One. The fabled soul mate that you get married to and brag about to your little single friends. The man you love and all that goopy crap. I've pretty much given up hope on him. At 26, I probably haven't met him. Never will. I could become a nun. God is cool, I mean…dude. He's God.

I mean, how many guys are tall, brown-haired, handsome, intelligent, and just amazing? Not many. There's always Daniel, my old school mate, but…I guess MLB got the best of him and he did steroids. Maybe not so intelligent.

"CASSANDRA LIKE SERIOUSLY. LOOK."

I turn my head. Cathryn's been one of my best friends since 5th grade, and I've seen her do some weird stuff, but this takes the cake. She's put pepper, spicy buffalo wing sauce, tomato juice, and a whole crapload of vodka in a tumbler and is chugging it. She's so getting hammered tonight. Thank goodness for Phil, her boyfriend, and his alcohol intolerance. He can't have more than two beers before barfing his guts out. He used to be such a party animal, too…wonder what happened.

He's also fairly loaded, so we got this luxury booth off to the side of the bar half of the club. The other half is the dance floor, and is currently occupied by drunk people and people pretending to be drunk, hoping to get lucky.

"Cathryn, why are we here?" I ask the slender, wasted chick next to me.

"Ta find yew a boiii, duhhh…" she trails off and starts to kiss Phil, slobber all over. I guess he likes it, because he readily kisses her back. I sigh and glance around. Some sluts at the bar, along with a few creepy looking 40-somethings. And of course, the bachelors trying to pick up the sluts.

_They can do better. They can choose you._

No. Too superficial, what the heck am I thinking?

As I'm thinking way to hard, I don't notice a man walking in the club and striding over to the bar, ordering a drink. Cathryn and Phil are laughing over something. My legs are crossed. I remember reading something online in 7th grade:

"Generally when women are not comfortable or happy, they cross their legs."

Yup. Truth.

I scan the room again. Some party song is playing.

"OH MY GAWD PHIL. We should…We should go dance."

"In the state you're in? Heh, I'd be lucky to get you to stand up straight."

I haven't stopped scanning the room for something interesting to do. Over the bar…the sluts and bachelors and a…bachelor? Maybe not? He's not flirting, but all the girls are flirting with him, causing the average bachelors to get red-faced and pissed.

Why is he ignoring everyone? I can't put my finger on it, but I recognize him. Heh, maybe he's like me, same personality or something. Are we related?

But no, I really have seen him somewhere. He's slender, wearing a gray dressy shirt with rolled up sleeves, a black vest, and black slacks, which fit him nicely. Honestly, it's similar to my outfit; a black blazer, gray camisole underneath, and a dark gray pencil skirt hitched up to mid thigh at Anna's discretion. He's got brown hair, neatly trimmed, so maybe he has money. Like it matters.

_Nothing matters; you want him to notice you._

No I don't. I…ugh.

He seems tall. That's a plus. I was always tall, and I currently am taller than the average American man, which is 5'10". I'm 6' even with an extra three inches added on by my other best friend's choice of heels. Mary Grace has a great fashion sense, and I wish she was here to make this a party, but she's on vacation with her husband.

He emits this aura of command and power, way different from other bachelors. One slut just left the bar. She notices me staring and says, "Sorry, bitch, he's gay since he didn't want any of this. Don't even try." She gestures to her size AA breasts and glares at me, then leaves.

He turns around to survey the crowd, legs crossed, bored expression on his face. I try to remember that face. He casts his eyes over me, moves to someone else…then returns to me. I can feel my heart racing, and I don't even know why. He raises his eyebrows. I raise one (an acquired trait from my old friend Lola), tilt my head back, and feign sleep.

I can hear Cathryn shrieking at Phil and I smirk silently as they run off to dance to a song from 2012. What a fun year that was…After a minute or two, I feel a body plopping next to me on the seat. Probably some bachelor wanting to get in my pants. I wait.

"I assume you're bored."

A deep, manly voice. Ever so familiar, yet I can't tell who it is. I open one eye and start analyzing at the shoes. Gucci. Obviously, there's money there. To the legs. Nice slacks I guess. I don't even linger on the pelvis, I don't care about his junk. The vest is nice, too. This outfit was part of a suit, I can tell. It looks like it needs the coat with it, so I assume he was busy before this. But I have to admit, I love the style of a tie, rolled up sleeves, and vest. Kind of hot, I guess. The shirt shows off his well-toned arms and abdomen. Fit. I reach his face. Seeing him up close helps solve the mystery, but I still can't place the face. He's attractive; I'll have to admit. He's got deep blue eyes that pierce the fair skin of his face. And why is he coming here if he's apparently got money…?

I raise an eyebrow again. "If I were drunk, I could be having a nice time. I am not, therefore I am bored." I wait a half a minute and say, "And you? Those sluts seem to be all over you."

He chuckles, and it seems unnatural, like he doesn't have a lot to laugh about in his life. "Superficiality is not something I'm attracted to." He sips his drink. "I guess this is the time for idle small talk."

I snort in response. "So it is. Seeing as we are approximately the same height, I can't really ask what the weather is like up there." I smirk.

He grins, again, unnatural. "And I can't buy you a drink, seeing as you seem to be loaded here." He gestures with a long arm to the bottles of liquor under the table.

I sigh, enjoying this. "You still can. But I don't want one."

He looks at me, puzzled, and asks the one question all other suitors failed to ask when approaching me, "Why?"

I straighten, uncross my legs (I note at this point that he never had his crossed), and begin a litany of reasons for him not to buy me a drink. He listens intently and interjects with good questions and comments every so often. He's genuinely listening, unlike so many others. I am so surprised, and at the same time, happy.

When I finish, he doesn't wait to give his own list as to why he should buy me a drink. He ultimately doesn't, but it was a good conversation. I've noticed how close he's sitting to me…and I don't move away.

Soon, one of my favorite slow songs starts playing. I lean back and begin humming with my eyes closed as he watches. He stands, holds out his hand to me, and says, "You want to dance?"

I open an eye, look up at him quizzically, and ask, "Why?

He replies with a smile, a dazzling, beautiful smile, "Because you want to."

I stand, take his hand, and he leads me to the dance floor.

We avoid the drunk fools and the lovebirds and settle on a secluded corner, where he places his hand on my real hip, not my ass, which is nice for a change. He grasps my other hand and I place my hand on his shoulder. We aren't too close, nor too far apart. We are forced to lean our heads in close to hear each other over the noise. We discuss things, but after a bit, it gets a little awkward.

He leaned in close again, his face right next to mine, his lips almost brushing my ear. "You seem to like this song," he murmured. "I heard you humming."

I blush, not really knowing why. "Yeah, it's my favorite slow song."

I can feel him smiling against my cheek. "So you have a favorite fast song?"

"I can't ever decide." I stop as the song ends and another dance song comes on. I pull back. "THIS ONE IS!" I grab his wrist, adorned with a Rolex watch and drag him to the front. I yell in his ear, "I always loved this song, follow my lead!"

He looks at me like I'm crazy, but obliges. The song reverberates in my bones, bringing me back to 8th grade dances. It was a staple at any school dance we went to, and I even had it on my mp3 player when I was younger. I still need to hold onto his wrist and half of his hand to guide him through the steps the song spits at us.

To the right four steps, to the left four steps, then four kicks, then you just dance a little. He keeps tripping, but that's ok. I can't help laughing at his awkwardness when it doesn't say what to do. He eventually gets the hang of it and is even moving to the beat during the verses. I apparently don't have a hold of it and trip, pulling something in my foot. He helps me up and guides me to my seat. I don't think Cathryn noticed, thank God.

"I don't think it needs ice. I didn't hurt it badly, just a twinge of pain. Really, I'm fine." I try to say. He ignores me, grabs a napkin and ice from a bucket of champagne, and puts it on my foot.

"If you were any other girl, you'd be crying. But, you're different." He says, crouching on the ground, looking up at me. Those deep, azure eyes…

"I learned not to be a wimp in high school PE. I was always the one getting panic attacks in dodgeball," I explain.

"Panic attacks? Did something traumatic happen to you?" He asks, running a hand through his hair. He moves to the seat next to me again.

I cast my eyes down, thinking about my brother's picture in my wallet.

_Nick._

He must have picked up on my sadness and quickly changed the subject. "Your friends seem to be in love. How'd you meet them?"

I grin. "I met Cathryn in 3rd grade, and I moved to her school in 5th grade and we became best friends. She's liked Phil ever since 3rd grade, actually, and he's liked her back. They're so cute together." I can't stop smiling.

We don't really talk for a while, and just listen to the music. Then I bring up a thought. "You said I'm different. What did you mean?" I turn to him.

He looks like I put him on the spot. "Well, you're not having fun. Second, you're not smooshing your body all over me, and I thank you for that. Third, you didn't cry when you got hurt so I would hug you."

_You want him to hug you._

Well, I want a hug. I miss my mom, obviously. Her death a few years ago really shook me...

Before I can respond, Phil leads Cathryn back to the seat. She falls asleep on him and he says to me, "Hey, you may want to call a cab. I have no problem with driving you home, but Cathryn wants to stay longer. She's just dozed off and…I don't know. Are you ok with that?" This is code for they are going to make out in the back of his car. I don't fight like I usually do and nod. "Thanks, man."

Mr. Familiar (Gosh darn it, who in the name of all that is good is he?) over here must have heard this, because as I sit back in my seat, he says, "You know, I could take you home. I can call my brother to pick me up anyway." Why is he going home so early? He's been here for like, an hour and it's only 10:30. He must not get out much.

"No, I can't. I can call a cab," I protest.

"I insist. I haven't smiled genuinely in a while. You helped me feel happy. I'll call my brother now." He pulls out his smartphone and taps a number in. I listen to his side of the conversation.

"Hey bro can you – yeah. Uhh…Awful. Um, I…Shut up, y - Ugh. Fine. You know what, screw that. Shut up. See you in a few. FORTY MIL – God I hate you. K thanks bye."

He taps the screen to end the call. I look at him, amused. "Sounds like one big happy family." He cringes, but he recovers. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" I stop, shut my eyes. "So…when's your bro coming? And what's his name?"

"About five minutes. And call him…Peachfuzz." He snickers. "He loves it." He seems smug, so I just smile and go along with it.

After a bit, and nods to me. We stand up and I let my ice pack fall off my foot. I wave goodbye to Phil and Cathryn and head out the door.

I could never be prepared for what I see next.

A young man, maybe 21, steps out of a shiny black Mercedes. It looks so clean you could eat off of it. The young man, most likely 'Peachfuzz', opens the door for us.

Blue eyes bore into my skull. "Ladies first." I climb in the back, and he follows. I feel my jaw drop as I see the lush interior. I close it as Peachfuzz climbs in the driver seat. I remember to play along.

"So, Peachfuzz." I list off my address and he just glares at us.

"Bro. You suck. A lot."

"Ah, Moki, you underestimate me." He starts laughing.

Moki ignores this and starts to drive to my place. We keep up conversation until we pull up to my apartment. I'm escorted out and up to my room.

I turn around. "Thank you for…tonight, I guess." I frown. "And how, in all this, did I not get your name? My name is Cassandra."

He recoils. "What? I never introduced myself?" he smiles and bows with a flourish. He looks up at me from his bow and says, refreshing my memory of him and imprinting my mind with a name I will never forget:

"Cassandra, I am Seto Kaiba, at your service."


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hello everyone! I don't know if you're going to read this fanfic, but I hope you like this chapter. It's fairly shorter, so i hope you're ok with that. I hope you've liked this fanfic so far though. Also, every chapter with italics before the actual story is Cassandra's POV, but I'll label the POVs anyway. _**

**_Read away!_**

_That day, I'll never forget it. It was such a surprise to hear your name. Seto Kaiba, the billionaire. You hadn't shown any signs of being rich or a bitch, like people always said. I found comfort in my friends, Krystal and Alycia. Lola…Well…  
_

* * *

I shut the door behind me and slump to the ground. What the heck? How had I not realized it? Seto Kaiba, the child genius, now owning KaibaCorp, having a net worth of over 160 billion dollars, had just danced with me and taken me home. No wonder the girls had been all over him. They were trying to get a piece of that fortune.

I'd played it cool and mentioned how I recognized him. We ended up exchanging numbers, and he said he hoped to see me again.

Now, sitting on the floor with my ferret, Simba, in my hand, I think over what the heck to do.

I could call a friend. Nah, publicity is a bitch.

I could call him. I check my watch. He left five minutes ago, too early to call. Besides, that's too clingy.

I get tired of just sitting there, so I stand up and walk over to my computer on the desk. Simba stays on my shoulder. I open up my chat that comes with my computer.

I happen to see an old friend, Alycia, open for chat. She moved to an old casino town in high school, and we kept in touch.

I click her name and start typing. We talk for a while. I mention Seto without revealing his name or fortune. She jokes about us getting married, and after I retort with the fact I've known him for an hour or two, she shuts up. She was always clever.

The conversation turns to her boyfriend, Justin. He apparently has gotten her roses and chocolate. I never really liked him, but I guess he treats her well, so I'm ok with him and her being together. Alycia keeps sending me LOLs and OMGs. I really have no idea what's happening so I ask. I guess Justin walked in with a stripper outfit on, but the shirt's too big and the shorts are too small. I'm laughing too, but I stop when the picture crosses my mind.

Ew.

I guess she wants to investigate, so I say good-bye and sign off. It was good to talk to her. I remember Team Dreamo, which consisted of her, two of my other friends, and I. It was a little book club of ours. I didn't read as many books as the others, even though I read really fast. I was just too lazy.

I sit back in my chair. Simba fell asleep, so I carry him back to his cage and put him in his bed. He's so cute, with his long, dark tail, but light colored body. I've always loved his paws too.

_And Seto is so hot, not just cute, with his deep blue eyes._

Ok, he is. I hadn't really seen him as attractive in the newspapers all over the city. I guess seeing him in person changed that opinion. Everyone knows him as one of the best duelists in the world and the CEO of KaibaCorp. I mean, he's Seto Kaiba, he could probably kill someone and get away with it. Sure, it'd be all over the newspapers and the TV, but he could buy his way out.

I hadn't seen him as the soft, intelligent type either. Sure, he's intelligent; he's proved that ten times over. Even though, the King of Games, Yugi Motou, has proven him to be a jerk more than once.

I'm not one to judge, but sometimes, I've thought about Seto being a jerk too. But maybe he's had a bad childhood or something. I never really looked into the subject. I guess we both have secrets.

I walk over to my dresser in my bedroom and pick up the large picture of Nick. My brother looked a lot like me, and I think I got my personality from him too, watching video games with him all the time. My tomboyishness probably was acquired from all the first person shooters I watched him play. (I ended up a half pyromaniac.) I miss Nick a lot, and I wish he were here.

Seto's a jerk according to the media, but I think there's something under that cold exterior that wants to come out. What did he see in me that made him so soft today? I'm skinny, tall, and a downer at parties. I'm not too attractive, what with a nose like Pinocchio's and a larger than normal forehead, but I'm not ugly, I guess.

No matter what, I know I'm not falling asleep tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I'm so glad to see the review and follows and favorites. Sorry this wasn't up earlier, I've been swamped. This will be the first chapter in Seto's POV, and is a little goofy, a little serious. Hope you like it! (And if I need to change the rating, please tell me ;) Thanks!) -Author**

**Seto's POV**

Cassandra smiles and closes the door. I look at the small piece of paper in my hand that has her number on it. I'm too tempted to knock on her door again and ask her out in person, but we just met, and just got her home.

I walk down the hall, go down the elevator to the lobby, and walk out the door. Mokuba is waiting for me.

"Peachfuzz? Really? That's LOW." He glares at me as I climb in the passenger seat. My legs aren't as relaxed as Mokuba's, seeing as I'm about 7 inches taller than his 5'6" frame. I'm always cramped in his cars.

"So is saying you need 40 million dollars." I glare right back at him. He turns to the road and begins to drive.

"What's her name?" Mokuba asks.

"Cassandra," I reply. The name rolls off the tongue. And it's elegant. Maybe a bit sassy, just like she is…

"You're saying her name in different accents, aren't you, Seto?" Mokuba snickers.

"Shut up, Mokuba." Unfortunately, that's the truth. Curse my thorough education...

* * *

I must have dozed off in the car, because I awake to our mansion looming in front of me. "Thanks for the ride, bro." Mokuba nods and I walk inside. The housekeepers and butlers are asleep, except for one.

Ethan is inside the Great Hall. I can hear him playing the piano. Our head butler was always one for the arts, even as a teenager. I start to sing along. "What a wonderful day in the neighborhood…"

I reach my bedroom and change into my bedclothes. It's ridiculously cold tonight. How did Cassandra stand the cold in such a short skirt?

Even though I'm very comfortable in my bed, I cannot fall asleep. Do I need to go to the bathroom? …No, I just did after I brushed my teeth. Am I hungry? No, not thirsty either.

I lay there, just listening to the house. The heat going on and off. The sound of Ethan running the tap for his nightly glass of ice water. The groans… Wait, what in the world? Sex noises…?

Someone is having sex in the house. I stand and grab my robe and slippers. I head out the door. My money is on Mokuba until I see him emerging from his room down the hall. We meet in the middle of the hallway and head toward the noise. It's coming from the bottom floor.

I hear pots clanging. The chef? We look at each other quizzically and head toward the kitchen. When we reach the door, Mokuba stops me and whispers, "They'll quit out of embarrassment if they know we know. What do we do?"

I grin evilly. "We fight fire with ice, and we are just the businessmen to do it."

* * *

In five minutes, we are ready, standing in the hallway outside the kitchen. I had another plan to make fake sex noises, but Mokuba shot it down. He didn't seem to enjoy the thought. Instead, we plan to scare them out of the kitchen and hopefully into their own bedrooms.

I nod at my brother and we start walking. "Ziz 'ollwey iz ze moost beautifoll I 'ave ever zeen!" I exclaim with a heavy French accent.

Mokuba nods and says, "Yes, we tend to keep our house elegant. Our adopted father decorated it well, but Seto had other ideas when he..." He coughs and continues. "So, _Ambassador,"_ he stresses the word ambassador, "how long do you plan to stay?"

"Ah, a day or zo, _si vou ne me derange pas." _French comes in handy sometimes, I have to admit it.

"I think they stopped," Mokuba says. I hear two pairs of feet run off to two separate rooms. We high-five and walk upstairs.

"Mokuba, I can't fall asleep," I confess.

"Text her. It might just help. Night." He replies with a mischievous smile and slips into his bedroom.

I sit back onto my bed. My phone is blinking with the message: **One New Message**

I snatch the phone up and look at it. The number is Cassandra's! I can't stop smiling.

Her message says, "Thanks for making tonight not suck. And sorry if you're not awake, I can't sleep."

We text back and forth for a while, and I look curiously at my phone as she sends me complete gibberish. She explains that it was her ferret, Simba, which had randomly scampered across the keyboard. I kind of expected her to have an animal such as a ferret. We talk about Simba for a while. He's a spazz who only gives affection when he's hungry.

I'd love to talk more, but she says that she's getting a call from her friend. I'm sad to see her go, which is odd, because I've never really felt that way about a girl. I have had crushes, just to find out they liked me for my money or were complete skanks. It gets old really fast. That's why I've pretty much stopped trying to look for a girl. Mokuba is so pushy, he made me go out tonight.

I really don't have long to dwell on this because almost immediately after saying goodbye and turning my phone off, I get a phone call. It's from my personal assistant, Drake. He's off on a late-night meeting, so it must have just ended now. After listening for a while, I'm compelled to hang up while he's mid-sentence. I run my hand through my hair and sigh.

Drake brought bad news. A huge company that we own makes a lot of our larger sized products, namely our holodecks, and almost all of them were declared defective or easily broken. The media will have a hayday over this, especially since we've been emphasizing the holodeck for a while. We can't only rely on Duel Disks and software.

Just another sleepless night for Seto Kaiba.


	4. Chapter 4

Seto's POV

I end up dozing off, and I wake up at 8:00. I really don't want to get up, but an object by my doors catches my eye. The newspaper. I get up, take it back to my bed, and read it. The headline makes me want to cry.

KAIBACORP DECLARES RECALL ON ALL HEAVY MACHINERY:

Who is to blame?

It pretty much says that all of the holodecks we used to use sucked, and all of our heavier and bulkier items sucked, and that they tend to break. I don't know how to fix this.

It doesn't matter; I need to get ready for the day. I grab a black vest, blue dress shirt, and black pants and change out of my pajamas. I look at myself in my bathroom mirror and sigh. I've got a meeting at eleven, and I've got to essentially mentally bitchslap the head of the factory that makes the recalled items. Sounds like fun.

I stride out of my room, down the hall and the stairs, and into the dining room. I sit at the head of the table. Drake, Ethan, Mokuba, and the others are just staring and I look up. "What?" I say icily.

"Well, sir," Drake begins. "We thought you'd be angry…"

I stab at a piece of ham from the plate placed in front of me by a server. "I am." I continue to eat like nothing is wrong. It's better to not take my anger out on them.

"Seto," Mokuba says. "You're ok, right?"

I slam down my fork. "_I'M FINE." _I say forcefully. I realize I've stood partly. I take a deep breath. A vision of Cassandra pops in my head, and I imagine the scent of lavender and soothing smells. I calm down enough to sit.

Everyone at the table exchanges glances, and then continues eating. I glance at my watch. 8:45. I can keep eating, then get to the factory at 9:30. Good, I'm surprisingly ravenous.

At 9 o'clock, I stand. "Drake, could you please have Albert bring the limo around?" I ask, feigning pleasantness. I start to head out the door, but I run back to get my briefcase. It seems to threaten people, and will be helpful for my job ahead.

Mokuba's standing in front of it, though. "Seto, you're not getting to it without telling me what the heck is up with you today." I glare at him and reach to the table in the foyer that has today's newspaper on it. I show it to Mokuba and he slaps it away, taking me by surprise. "No, Seto. This is something more. Usually, you don't try to control your emotions. But today, you did pretty quickly. Why?"

I don't know how to respond, because I honestly don't know either. I just shove him out of the way, grab my briefcase, and say, "Mokuba, maybe I have grown up. You should too."

Mokuba rushes up to me and grabs my collar. The force knocks the briefcase out of my hand. "You listen here, 'Bro,'" he spits out at me. "At 22, I'm pretty well grown. I can handle myself and ask questions if I want. Now let me ask again, what is up with you?" His light blue eyes bore into mine. He's about six inches shorter than me at 5'7", so he's looking up at me, but he's strong, and I have to fight to stand up straight. Maybe he has grown, in more ways than one.

And for the first time in about 16 years, I feel tears in my eyes. I reel back to wipe them away. Mokuba looks at me softly, then just hugs me. I gladly hug back. Sometimes, that's all you need. "Oh Seto, whatever will we do without you?" Mokuba says. We pull back and laugh. I find that Mokuba was tearing up too.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir, the limo is here." Drake appears. I nod and pick up my briefcase. I say goodbye to Mokuba and walk outside to the limo. Inside the car, Drake fills me in on what exactly happened. Something with the faulty metal. It supposedly was the head of the factory's fault, and we're pretty sure it was him who caused it.

Good.

When we arrive at the factory, I waste no time letting myself in. I ask the first person I see where the manager's office is, and they point to a black door. I enter and slam the door behind me. A young, plump face is sitting in the leather office chair behind the desk. He seems to be expecting me.

"EXPLAIN. NOW." I bellow.

"Well, you see, sir, the company we ordered from for metal sent the wrong kind, and the welding made it weak. So, when we put it togeth-" he starts, but I cut him off.

"So you didn't CHECK?! Isn't that your JOB?"

"Well, um…"

"ANSWER ME." I'm getting really fed up now.

"No."

"Then whose job IS IT?!"

"The head of shipping." He is shrinking in his chair.

"Where?" I don't get an answer right away and I yell, "WHERE IS THE HEAD OF SHIPPING LOCATED?!"

"Down the hall, last door on the right-"

I'm already out the door. I also barge into this office and yell, "YOU DIDN'T CHECK?" I slam my hands on his desk and lean in his face.

"Uh…I was…busy." My nostrils flare.

I am shaking with fury. "You mean to tell me, that you cost me about one billion dollars because you were busy. Well, you won't be _busy_ anymore." I straighten.

"W-What do you mean?" he stammers.

"You're jobless…fired." I stalk out of the room, picking up my briefcase in the process, walk down the hall and out the door, into my limo.

"Let's go home, Albert."


	5. Chapter 5

**Stuff actually happens in this chapter, guys XD Enjoy!**

Cassandra's POV

_Your supposed bitchiness wasn't obvious, so I didn't think you had any. I half hoped I'd see you again. Never thought I would, very soon apparently._

When I wake up on Saturday, Simba is attacking my hair. I shoo him away and sit up. 9:45, my clock says. Why is Simba up? Oh yeah, he plays at dawn and dusk, and since we're nearing the winter solstice, dawn is now for him. Ugh.

Krystal's call last night was about our friend, Alex. He'd gotten in some accident and Krystal was concerned. We ended up resolving that she would go check on him in the hospital today. He didn't cause the accident, so it's good that he's not in jail at least.

I never really got to talk to her about Seto, which sucks. I mean, it's ok, but…I kind of want to share the fact that a guy genuinely liked me. I can always go talk to Simba, I guess.

Speaking of Simba, he's gnawing on my hand. This probably means he's hungry. I get up and walk to his food bowl. It's empty, but so is his bag of food and I don't have any bugs either. Time to go to the pet store, I guess. I glare at Simba. "Fatty."

Luckily, the store's only two blocks away, so I don't have far to walk. And there's one thought on my mind. Do I take my ferret with me? I could taunt the cats with him. That would be fun. Meh, I'm too lazy, so I put him in his cage. I grab a coat, boots, cash, and keys and I'm out the door.

There's a huge backup on the street. I reach the store, grab the pet food, pay, and leave. On my way back, I see a few cars parked on the side of the road, and one catches my eye. It's the KaibaCorp limo! I try not to run up and say hi. I notice someone steps out, making a phone call.

It's got to be him; the figure is tall and slim. I walk more, and see he's unable to make a phone call, probably a dead battery. He looks angry and just yells at the air, "SHIT!"

I feel in my pocket for my phone and run to Kaiba. When I reach the young CEO, I hand him the phone. "Here. Use it."

He looks at me, surprised (either he's weirded out by my cat print pajamas and t-shirt or he wasn't expecting to see me), but nods and takes the phone. He makes a call to Mokuba about telling some corporate that he'll be late. He hangs up and gives the phone back to me.

"So, what's got you out here?" I ask while pocketing the phone.

Kaiba sighs. "Haven't you seen the newspaper or heard the radio or something? It's all over the news."

"Well, I just woke up, literally. Had to get Simba food." I hold up my huge bag of ferret food. My stomach grumbles, showing that I hadn't eaten. "Better get me some food, too!" I laugh and glance down the road. "I think they've barricaded the street. Look," I point down the road where Kaiba was heading. "There's a water main break or something."

Kaiba just growls in frustration. "And I have a meeting to attend. Great," He looks at me. "Are you hungry?"

I think about lying. "Yeah." Damn. "Why?"

"Come on," he grabs my wrist and starts to walk down the street, leading away from my apartment. "I'll take you to breakfast. There's a place around the corner I hear is good." He reconsiders the wrist grabbing and takes my arm instead, his hand in the crook of my elbow.

"Wait, what about Simba?" I wail. I follow him without hesitation, but I don't know if Simba will deal with not having food.

Kaiba stops and turns around. Drake was following closely behind, wondering what was going on. "Drake," he says. "Could you take Cassandra's food home and feed her ferret?"

Drake nods. I give him instructions on what to do and how much to feed him. I also warn him that he tends to nip really hard at strangers. I tell him my address and give him my bag and keys, and he runs off to my apartment. I was pretty reluctant in giving my keys to him, but he's paid to be trustworthy, so I do.

Seto continues leading me to the restaurant. He buys a newspaper when we get there.

We find a booth and I order. Seto hands me the paper from across the table. After reading, I gape up at him. "That's awful!" I exclaim.

He looks at it himself while talking. "Guy who caused it is fired already." He rubs his throat. "Been yelling too much today."

The waitress comes with my plate, which I tuck into readily. After a bite of hash browns, I look at him. "Aren't you gonna eat?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Already did."

I keep eating. After a minute, I feel eyes on us and I look up and around the restaurant. Almost everyone is staring at us. Some have their phones out or are taking pictures. "Should we leave?" I tilt my head to the onlookers.

Seto looks up. "Nah. Let them think whatever they want."

I fake pout. "And I'm wearing the most frumpalicious outfit ever!" We laugh over this.

I finish my breakfast and the waitress takes my plate. She mentions that it comes with pie. I look at Seto. "We'll split one," I say to her, without looking away. She smirks and walks to the kitchen.

Seto protests, "I'm too full for pie. I can live without it."

"Nope, we're sharing. You need energy. And you can't have just eaten anyway, so think of this as a mid-morning snack," I look smug. He sighs, but smiles slightly.

The waitress brings chocolate cream pie, but there's a heart dug into the whipped cream. I at it, not believing what I'm seeing. "What the heck?"  
The entire restaurant sees it and goes up in "Aww!" I start banging my head on the table. Seto places his hand under my head and brings it up. He takes a knife and splits it down the middle. One half for me, another for him. We dig in.

Eventually, there's one broken piece left. We stare each other down and take stabs at it. Our forks both hit the pie, and then there is a flash. I whip my head to the right. A photographer in the window. Seto swears, slams $25 on the table, and hauls me out the door. "Where there's one, there's many. We need to get away," he says as he pushes me down the street. "But where to go?"

"Your limo?" I suggest.

"Nah, they'll find us. I really don't want to yell at them, either." Seto says.

"Oh! My friend Lola lives near here. Let's go to her place!" I say excitedly. Seto looks skeptical, but he follows me.

We run into the lobby of her building, down the hall, and into Lola's room. Kaiba runs to the windows and shuts all the blinds. I try to find Lola. She's in the bathroom. I yell into the door, "Lola! You done taking a dump yet?"

I hear a voice coming from the other side. "Uh, sure." A thump. I hear water running and then she opens the door. She looks disheveled. She must have just woken up. She glances lazily around. "Why are my blinds closed?" she asks.

"Um…"I stammer. Seto comes in from the other room. Lola just gapes.

"SETO-" her scream is cut off as I clamp my hand over her mouth.

"Shut up!" I hiss at her. "Paparazzi's after him. We need to lay low."

Lola's still got wide eyes, but she nods. I take my hand away and she runs to Seto. "Oh my gosh! How'd you meet Cassandra?" she whispers while jumping up and down a little.

Seto looks amused. "We met last night," he says in a low voice.

Lola looks from him to me, then back at him. "So…you did it?"

I run over to her. I start to grab her collar, but Seto stops me from throttling her. I step back and glare. "No, we didn't do it. I was walking from the pet store and he needed a phone, so I let him borrow it. Then he took me to breakfast. Paparazzi was chasing us, and now I'm about to murder you."

Lola has a sly look on her face. "I think you're taking this too fast. Maybe you should cool your jets. Text some more."

I look at her incredulously. Before I can speak, Seto says, "Yeah, you're right. We should take it slower. No random breakfasts, that's for people who have been together for a year, got it." He's barely containing laughter, his blue eyes alight with mischief.

Lola doesn't pick up on this. She looks all high and mighty, but slightly wary. "Yes, that's right, Mr. Kaiba. Have a first date, at least."

I turn bright red. This is moving way too fast for me. A friend deciding my love life with this guy I met last night, who happened to be right there, agreeing with her, even though it was a joke? This is too much for my frazzled brain, so I stalk into the next room, her bedroom. I can hear their murmurs from here, but not clearly. Still, ugh.

I wish people would butt out of my life. I wish Lola would shut up. I wish Seto wasn't a smart alec. And I wish that my life were simple.

Most of all, I wish that Seto would just not be famous.

I find myself on her bed, curled up in a ball. Hot tears stain my cheeks and I squeeze my eyes shut, dig my nails into my arms. Why do I have to have motions?

I roll on my back and wipe my eyes. I hear Lola calling, "Cassaaaaaandraaa! Come out!" Ugh. What do they want now? I pull myself up and trudge to the door, but I walk normally into the living room.

Lola is walking (more like dancing) into the next room. Seto smiles at me, though looks slightly concerned, but he walks towards me. I am pretty pissed, but feel bad for glaring at him. I can't help it. He reaches me and looks embarrassed and awkward. He looks down and shuffles his feet, but eventually stares into my eyes. "Cassandra…It would be an honor if you would allow me to…take you on a date tonight. To a restaurant, a real one this time." He waits for my reply expectantly.

I smile shyly. "I'd love to. But you'll have to cut the overly formal stuff. We don't court anymore. It's a date."

"I know. I can't help it. Too used to speaking to corporate people, I guess."

"But that's ok. Pick me up at 6:30?"

Seto nods. "Sounds good."

I let out a breath. "Well, I had better go murder my friend. I'll be right back."

Before I can stalk over to her room, Seto grabs my arm. "Wait! She gave me the idea. Well, I was going to, but not this soon. Don't kill her," he says.

I stare at him like he's crazy. "What? She gave…" I glance towards her door, back at him, and then walk over to the room where Lola is hiding.

I open the door. Lola's coloring an older-looking coloring book. Why…? "Lola. What did—"

"You're welcome." I smile at her as she speaks. I shake my head and walk out. Seto is sitting on the couch. I plop next to him and sigh. He's frowning.

He sits back and stretches. A thought runs through my head. "When do we leave? We've been here for like, fifteen minutes. How long do they take to run off?" Honestly, I am really impatient. I hate this waiting already.

Seto runs a hand through his hair. "Depends. They usually stalk me, then try to get into my hiding place, then I sometimes yell, but that doesn't always work. I can probably let them take a picture or two but when they ask questions, I troll them. It went into the newspaper once. That was hilarious. But I usually ignore them and if they don't go away, I call the cops." After a second or two, the doorbell rings and we exchange glances. Seto runs to Lola's dresser and grabs some sunglasses, makeup and a scarf. He shoves it at me and I immediately start to put it on, understanding what he means. I put on copious amounts of dark foundation (how is Lola so tan?) and lipstick. It looks pretty convincing. I take off my coat, tie a scarf around my head, and put the sunglasses on.

I run to the door and open it as Seto sprints into the bathroom. "Hello?" I ask in a raspy voice.

The face on the other side looks at me, confused. He carries a camera. Obviously the paparazzi. "Have you seen Seto Kaiba?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "Have you seen my virginity? I think I lost it a few minutes ago."

The man recoils and looks shocked. "Hey man, I'm just here to take pictures and record what Kaiba says. I don't care about your love life."

I glare some more and don't budge. Lola calls from the other room "Come back, honey! I want some more!" in a higher voice. I smirk evilly and start to shut the door, but the man has his foot in the door. He's about to walk in when I hear Seto yell "We need you now!" also in a high-pitched voice. The man is really freaked out and runs away, down the hall and out the door.

I slam the door and start laughing. Lola is also laughing her head off. Seto walks in the living room, but stumbles and falls on the floor, cracking up. I walk over to him. He's tearing up, he's laughing so hard. I shake my head at him.

"What are we going to do with you, Mr. Kaiba?"


End file.
